Over the past 14 weeks I have been developing a corporate identity for a new fictional beer label called Gruen. Over three articles I am outlining the process and decisions made while creating this identity.

This is part three – annual report design.

Below are the briefs of the three projects that we completed at University.

Pitch two creative billboard designs to the class based on the chosen beer from project one > the class will vote on best billboard design.

PART 3. Annual Report Design

Pitch two concepts to the class for the Gruen Brewery annual report design > the class will vote on the best annual report design.

Project 3: Annual Report Design

The final project for the Gruen Brewery corporate identity was to create 2 annual report design concepts. We only had to do 2 spreads and the front cover for each report… thank god because annual reports can be hundreds of pages long.

The Brief

With the general identity you devised for Gruen Beer, you are required to produce 2 indicative designs for the 2008 Gruen Brewery Annual Report. This must include a cover design, a double page spread for the ‘Year in Review’ section, and a double page spread for the financial pages – all of the copy is provided. The format is typically A4, but it is essentially open to interpretation. It must, however accommodate the necessary information, and be practical to distribute via local and international mail. Some thought should also be given to an electronic conversion of the design for viewing via the web. All imagery must be unique and copyright free.

Annual Report Concept 1

For the first concept, I went with a light earthy colour scheme reflective of the Australian outback and the overall image of Gruen ‘Double Hopped’ Beer. In this report I used the typeface Stempel Schneidler Std for both the headings and body copy which provided the the report with a traditional and coherant look.

As you can see on the front cover and throughout the spreads, the repetition of the two kangaroos really enforces the brand along with the red circle and various hues of brown / creme that tie the report together as a whole.

The use of large headings on each page draws the viewers eye to that part of the page first, clearly stating exactly where they are in the annual report, which is useful when skimming through – reports are usually hundreds of pages long.

The large figure of $43,406,000 is the annual profit after tax, something that should be highlighted as most people don’t stop to study the numbers… This heading gets the main point across in an instant – Gruen Brewery is a company to invest in.

Annual Report Concept 2

For the second concept I went for a more sophisticated yet contemporary feel using the colour scheme found on the Gruen bottle itself. I used the beautiful typeface Bodoni for the headlines and Times New Roman for the body copy.

The front cover is clean and minimalistic with a lot of white space that gives the brand an up-market, sophisticated look. The clean cut fonts also help portray this image which is also evident on the inside covers.

On the right hand side of the Year In Review page is a pull quote – “Production for the year was 2.3 million bottles, an increase of 11% on the 2007 level.” This highlights the main point of the page without the need for reading all of the text, which as you know, no one ever does.

Again on the finance page, like in concept 1, the large $43,406,000 is highlighted as a prominent feature to e,phasise the fact that the company is extremely profitable. The two kangaroos, again, are featured on each page reinforcing the Gruen Brewery brand.

The Verdict

When I held a Poll on twitter, 20 voted for the first design and 33 people voted for the second design. What do you think?

Personally, I think the second design is stronger as it reflects the nature of the beer boutique market, that of sophistication and class. It also has a more unified and coherent colour scheme that mirrors the colours of the beer itself.

Number 2 is great and looks more like your branding on the bottles. You might want to adjust the cropping of the kangaroos on the bottom right corner of the Year in Review spread. They are starting to not read as kangaroos so much. Probably because there is no delineation between the two animals, and we can’t see their tails here. They work great when not cropped though.

I like the front cover of the second design. The simplicity can’t be beat. But I also like the first spread of the first design. because of the curved lines that mimmic the kangaroos

The first spread of the second design: I don’t care for the cropping and flipping of the kangaroos in the bottom right corner. It produces an awkward positive/negative space result. I like how you cropped the beer bottle ont this same spread. The other thing I don’t like as much is the very light rectangles behind each heading, they line up awkwardly with the first column’s headings.

i think the fist one has its upsides… mainly, the curves, that sort of mirror the curviness of the kangaroo logo. Its a nice touch.

The second cover is vastly superior though. So much more elegant. The only thing I’m not too wild about in this one is the big ‘year in review’ heading… just doesn’t appeal to me the way its arranged. But overall, this one is better, and I voted for it.

Nicely done on both, but I also chose #2. The only change I would suggest is to the page with the kangaroos in the bottom right corner.

Maybe the color of the kangaroos is to distracting for something that should be an accent, or maybe I just dont like the way it is cutting off the graphic Im not sure. I just know I would make some changes on that page.

Otherwise the colors on both are great, and I I like the layout of both. I think it is was the darker colors and larger fonts for the titles that pushed me to #2.

I must admit that both of them look very nice, but I’ve voted for #2 for few reasons :

1) The colour scheme is more suitable for beer. The colour scheme for #1 looks more suitable for red wine / other drinks.
2) The cover design for #2 is simple, yet good enough. Cover design for #1 looks more like menu at restaurants rather than an annual report. It is also too common.

However, the smaller titles in concept #2, such as ‘Balance Sheet’ are too small when you compare with the big titles. I think they should have the same size as in concept #1.

Stephen,
I also loved the front cover of the second design! I would love to see it in print.

Peter,
There is always going to be people better or worse off than you, just don’t take it to heart and keep improving. My marks are generally between then 80-100 bracket. Highest mark was 99, and boy was that annoying!

My 3D Multimedia Class was not so good, only 70 because it involved 3D animation and that is not one of my strongest skills… everyone has their weaknesses.

Rob,
Times New Roman has it’s place in design and it is a much respected font… the problem lies with it being the default font in Microsoft Office which makes it overused. Scriptina, I believe was a strong choice for the logo. Even if a font is *overused* it doesn’t mean that it is not the right choice for the job at hand.

I have to disagree with you, Jacob. Overuse is certainly something to consider when researching type choices. When I see Times New Roman, I think of an MS Word document. There are so many wonderful alternatives: Arnhem, Stone Serif, Minion, etc.

I voted the first concept, because of the optimistic immpresion that it makes to me. The red color makes it more vital, but it still is classy.
The second one is for my taste in a bit funeral colors, despite of its elegance. Would be great coffee making company.
But anyway great job on both. Congratulations!!!

Really enjoyed the description of the development process. I came across this on StumbleUpon. I think both color schemes do the job well, though I voted for the 2nd because the 1st, with the red, reminded me of a chain restaurant like Outback Steak House trying to hard to be very classy. I also found these designs and blog entries to be interesting and very creative http://www.incdesign.com/

Although I like and understand the motives for the first concept, I think the second is more effective in achieving it’s goal. Reinforcing the high class niche of this particular beer is key. I also much prefer the close up image of the bottle. You don’t need to see the entire bottle when you already know what you’re reading about. Less is more in this case. I do see one weakness consistent in both pieces though. The typography is tasteful and the fonts are fine choices, but taking the time to adjust kearning by hand, particularly in titles is worth the extra effort. In cases like the second “YEAR IN REVIEW” text the serifs may make kearning awkward, but use your judgment and make adjustments that balance the weight of the text. Attention to detail always counts and is absolutely essential for a high end market.

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